Mount Kisco’s Via Vanti! Italian Café to Close Next Week
The Italian café and restaurant Via Vanti! at the Mount Kisco train station will shut its doors next week after the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is prepared to announce another operator for the site.
Owner Carla Gambescia said Thursday she has been operating on a month-to-month basis since last summer when the lease she inherited from the Flying Pig expired Aug. 31, 2015. Via Vanti! has occupied the space at the station since 2008 but will close at the end of business on Saturday, June 18.
“I’m still grieving but I’m moving toward acceptance,” she said.
Gambescia said last fall the MTA, which owns the building, began accepting bids through a Request for Proposal. Her bid included a “substantial” rent increase and an investment in a new heating, ventilation and air condition system.
After failing to hear from the agency for several months, Gambescia said she started calling the MTA regularly because she needed to know whether to invest in the HVAC work and renew her state liquor license, which expires at the end of this month.
In late May, she was informed by the MTA that it had made its selection, apparently outbid by the new operator. However, since it is a closed bidding process, the new restaurant will not be made known until at least next month.
Gambescia said she knew from the time she moved into the train station at Kirby Plaza that a lease renewal was far from a guarantee.
“I understood all of these things,” she said. “When I came into this space and put my restaurant in there, I knew what I was doing. I’m still not happy about it right now.”
MTA spokeswoman Nancy Gamerman said the agency issued its RFP last October and anticipates recommending the award at its July 27 meeting. She said the MTA had to open the bidding process whenever the lease expires for a property that it owns.
“In order to ensure fairness to all, and to ensure that the MTA is receiving the maximum compensation it can for its real estate, when a tenant’s lease expires, the MTA is legally obligated to offer the space through a competitive selection process that is open to all who wish to offer a proposal for the space,” Gamerman said.
Mount Kisco Village Manager Edward Brancati said the MTA has informed the village that the new tenant will be a food establishment but he was not at liberty to disclose its identity.
He said he hoped that Gambescia would consider relocating Via Vanti! elsewhere within the village and officials would do what they could to assist her.
Gambescia said she would consider reopening in the area if she could find a suitable location. However, she does not want to commute more than 15 to 20 minutes from her Chappaqua home.
Despite the sudden turn, Gambescia, a former consultant, said the past eight years have been among the best of her life. She said it had been a longtime dream to open an Italian themed restaurant, she helped run various events and fundraisers for organizations such as Guiding Eyes for the Blind and she was able to write a book containing stories and columns of her travels and experiences.
Prior to opening Via Vanti! Gambescia said she didn’t know many people in the area but was able to meet a wide range of people.
“I am grateful for all of the wonderful things in my life that come out of this restaurant,” she said.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/